Faith, hope and rocketry

By Justin Mullins

NEXT week the first of a new generation of small Japanese rockets is due to lift off from the space centre on the tiny island of Tanegashima, 115 kilometres south of the Japanese mainland. The three-stage vehicle, called J-I, will eventually carry satellites weighing up to a tonne into orbit. But for its maiden flight, J-I will carry a cargo that will influence the shape of the next generation of Japanese spacecraft and have a major impact on the nation’s long-term ambitions in space.

HYFLEX is an experimental hypersonic vehicle that is critical to Japan’s plan to launch its own space shuttle, called HOPE, early next century. It is designed to study the hostile conditions that HOPE will encounter as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere. Once J-l reaches an altitude of 110 kilometres, HYFLFX will separate from the launch vehicle and begin gathering data as it flies over the Pacific Ocean at speeds of up to Mach 15.

HOPE is the brainchild of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) in Tokyo. It will carry out experiments in space, ferry cargo to and from the international space station and service satellites in orbit. But unlike the American space shuttle, HOPE will have no crew, so it must be able to carry out all its tasks remotely, with the minimum of help from the ground. While the designers of HYFLEX will be watching closely as it tears through the upper atmosphere, other teams of engineers will be testing systems that will allow HOPE to navigate, fly and land automatically.

Lift and drag

By the

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